Continuous flow dispenser valve



Oct. 6, 1964 P. R. GRIMM CONTINUOUS FLOW DISPENSER VALVE:

Filed Jan. 2, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet l BY wll w %w V %ORNEYS Oct. 6, 1964 P. R. GRIMM CONTINUOUS now DISPENSER VALVE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 2, 1952 United States Patent O 3,151,776 CGNTWUOUS FLOW DISPENSSER VALVE Philiip R. Grimm, Des Pianes, lil., assignor to The Dola Valve Company, Chicago, Bl., a corporation of Iliinois Filed Jan. 2, 1962, Ser. No. ?163,477 1 Clain. (Ci. 222-57) This invention relates to fluid dispensing devices and more particularly relates to a constant flow beverage dispenser wherein constant volumes of syrup and carbonated water can be mixed and delivered for use.

Beverage dispensers of the type which are adapted to mix a syrup and carbonated water and to dispense the mixed drink have been arranged in a number of ways. For nstance, some dispensers have been arranged with a simple shut-oh? valve for the syrup and carbonated water ports so that upon opening of the valve the syrup and carbonated water will be mixed as it passes to the receiving cup. Such dispensers have not proven entirely satisfactory in use however since the pressure head of the syrup varies as the syrup is drained from the container. Syrup is usually stored in a large canister and as syrup is drawn from the canister for mixture with the carbonated water, the pressure head of the syrup decreases. As a result, when syrup is drawn from a filled syrup canister the resulting mixture contains a higher proportion of syrup to carbonated water than does the mixture which results when syrup is drawn from a nearly empty canister. These differences of course result from the fact that the pressure head of the syrup is greater when the canister is full than when it is empty. When the pressure head is greater, the flow rate of syrup through its outlet orifice is greater than when the canister is nearly empty.

In order to obviate these disadvantages a dispenser has been devised which is arranged to deliver proportionate predetermned constant flow volumes of syrup and carbonated water for mixture, regardless of variations in the head of the syrup and the pressure of the water. Such a device is illustrated in the Elroy J. Kraft Patent 2,698,701 assigned to The Dole Valve Company, now of Morton Grove, Illinois.

The Kraft structure was designed with a metering chamber at the lower end of the syrup canister and a cup is positioned over the metering chamber to control the flow of syrup from the canister to the chamber and has a srnall orifice formed therein. A shut-off valve Controls the flow of syrup from the metering chamber as well as the flow of carbonated water for mixture with the syrup and when this valve is open the cup is postioned so as to prevent any large flow of syrup from the canister to the metering chamber. The only syrup flow from the canister to the metering chamber when the main shut-ofl valve is opened is through the small bleed orifice formed in the cup. The metering chamber is vented to the atmosphere and the bleed orifice is smaller than the main discharge port from the metering chamber so that when syrup is dispensed from the metering chamber it is not effected by the pressure head of syrup within the syrup canister. The problem then of syrup flow rate variances caused by syrup pressure head difierentials is eflectively obviated.

It has been found however that while such types of devices serve to eflectively obviate the problems caused by syrup pressure head diiferentials, they exhibit other objectionable characteristics. For instance, beverage dispensers must often be used in places in which they are put to use dispensng mixed drinks in rapid succession. Dispensers which have been designed to obviate the pressure head problem by the bleed orifice principle require a predetermined recovery time before the metering chamber can be filled through the bleed orifice to the desired 3,15l,776 ?atentati Oct. 6, 1964 ice level prior to the next dispensing operation. Of course, dispensers of the type disclosed in the Kraft patent above referred to are arranged so that if the dispensing handle is released and then actuated again the metering chamber can be filled to the desired level. However, it is well known that many dispenser operators hold the dispenser handle in such a position that the shut-off valve is left constantly open while five or more mixed drinks are dispensed. The small bleed orifice between the syrup canister and the metering chamber must then eflect filling of the metering chamber. Iowever, since it is necessarily smaller than the discharge outlet from the metering chamber, filling of the chamber is not etfected as rapidly a syrup is drawn therefrom. The result of course is that the last of a series of drinks dispensed from the dispenser in rapid succession is considerably weaker in syrup content than the first drink of the series.

I have developed a continuous flow dispenser valve which obviates both of these problems. It provides a proportionate predeternined constant flow of syrup and carbonated water for mixture regardless of variations in head of the syrup and pressure of the water and, in addition, has been designed so that it can eflect this de sired operation even though the dispenser shut-oif valve is maintained in a dispensing position continuously to dispense a multiplicity of mixed drinks.

In accordance with my invention an inverted cup is a depending hollow boss formed therein that is apertured at its lowermost end to provide a discharge opening to communicate the interior of the syrup canister with a metering chamber. The metering chamber in turn is communicable with a main discharge outlet from the dispensing device and the flow of syrup from the metering chamber to this main discharge outlet is controlled by a shut-o& valve. The metering chamber is communicable with the atmosphere through an elongated tube which extends upwardly from the inverted cup member above the level of syrup in the canister. A float is positioned within the metering chamber which has an annular configuration and fits about the depending portion of the inverted cup so that the depending portion of the cup acts as a guide for the float. A valve head is formed on the float which is cooperable with the discharge opening formed in the inverted cup member so that when the metering chamber has been filled to a predetermined level the valve head will close that opening to prevent the further entry of syrup into the metering chamber from the syrup canister. As soon as the level of syrup within the metering chamber lowers, the float, riding on the syrup within the chamber, will move away from the discharge opening and permit syrup to flow into the metering chamber until the syrup level therein has rsen sufliciently to again seat the float valve head on the discharge opening. The discharge opening in the inverted cup member has an effective flow area at least as great as the effective flow passage leading from the metering chamber to the dispenser outlet so that syrup can be fed to the metering chamber at a rate equal to the rate of flow of syrup from the metering chamber.

I have thus devised a dispensing device in which the flow of syrup to the metering chamber can keep up with the flow of syrup from that chamber so that diluted drinks will not result from continued use of the dispenser. Still further, I have devised a dispenser which achieves this result and yet which is insensitive to the pressure head of syrup within the syrup canister. The pressure head of syrup which determines the rate of flow of syrup from the metering chamber is determined by the level of liquid within the metering chamber rather than the level of liquid within the syrup canister. For all practical purposes, the device which is disclosed herein will act to keep a constant syrup level within the metering chamber.

It is therefore a principal object of my invention to provide a new and improved form of beverage dispenser of a simplified Construction arranged to deliver proportionate predetermined constant flow volumes of syrup and carbonated water for mixture regardless of variations in head of the syrup and pressure of the water and to provide a dispenser which can attain these advantages and yet which can eflectively dispense a mixture of syrup and carbonated water over a long period of time and still provide the predetermined proportionate volumes of syrup and water.

This and other objects of my invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings, where- FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken through a beverage dispenser constructed in accordance with my invention, with certain parts thereof broken away;

FGURE 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional View taken through the dispensing valve and showing the main valve and the float valve head in seated positions;

FIGURE 3 is another vertical sectional view through my dispenser valve which is similar in nature to FIGURE 2 but which shows the main valve and the float valve head in unseated positions; and

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken through my float valve.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings, lt) designates a container for the dispensing unit and has an ice or refrigerated tank 11 therein which is spaced from the outer wall of the container by an insulation barrier lla. A syrup canister 12 is mounted within the refrigerator tank 11 by means of a bracket 13 which is connected to the base Wall 14 of the container and has an open top and a downwardly sloping bottom 15. The sloping bottom leads to an upwardly opening cup 16.

A capillary housing 17 has a radially enlarged cup portion 18 seated within the cup portion 16 and a pair of seals 19, which are mounted within circumferential grooves in the capillary housing 17 serve to seal the cupshaped portons 16 and 18 to one another.

The capillary housing 17 forms a housing for a capillary valve member 20 and a passageway for carbonated water between the interior of the wall thereof and the exterior of the valve member 20. The capillary valve member 20 is slidably mounted in the capillary housing 17 for vertical movement relative thereto, into position to deliver carbonated Water along the exterior of the capillary valve member, and syrup through the hollow interior of the capillary valve member for mixture with the carbonated water, as will be hereafter described in detail.

Carbonated water may enter the bottom of the container 10 through a flexible tube 21 in a fitting Zla. The tube is shown as being flanged at its ends and engaging opposite ends of the tting. The fitting 21:: is retained through the bottom of the casing 10 by a nut Zlb engaging the flange of a retainng sleeve Zle, Secured to and depending from the bottom of the casing 10 and having a tube or pipe 23 for the carbonated water leading therefrom and connected with a passage (not shown) in a cooling plate extendng along the bottom of the refrigerated tank 11. The passageway extending along the bottom of the refrige'ated tank may be in the form of a labyrinth passageway covering nearly the entire bottom of the cooling plate to provide a tortuous path for the carbonated Water along the cooling plate. In any event, this passageway has communication with a fitting 27 which is connected with the receiving end of a tube 29 and which is retained thereto by a retainng nut 30. The delivery end of the tube 29 is shown as being connected with a fitting 31, Secured to the capillary housing 17 adjacent ?the upper end thereof, and communicating with a pas- 4 sage 32 extending through the wall of capillary housing into the interior thereof.

The fitting 31 has a seat 33 therein on the Upstream side of a reduced area passageway 34. The seat 33 may be made of nylon to resist any Corrosive action of the carbonated Water and has a frusto conical surface 35 at its upstream side, which forms a seat for a flow control Washer 36. The flow control Washer 3-6 operates on principles similar to that shown and described in Patent 2,454,929 which issued to Leslie A. Kempton on November 30 1948. The flow Washer fiexes within the trusto conical seat 35 upon increases in pressure of the carbonated water, resulting in a reduction in area of the orifice therethrough and a constant delivery Volume of the carbonated water, regardless of variations in upstream pressure thereof.

The tube 21 in the fitting 2161 is engaged by a generally hemispherical end portion of an engaging member 36, slidably mounted in a sleeve 37. The sleeve 37 extends at right angles to the tube 21 and within the fitting 21a. The engaging member 36 may be formed on a screw 39 threaded in the sleeve 37. Thus, when the hemispherical inner end of the engaging member 37 is forced into th tube 21 and one wall thereof is engaged with the other, the flow of carbonated water may be entirely shut oif.

A drain 40, which may lead to any suitable container or floor drain or the like, leads from the bottom of the refrigerator tank 11 to provide a means for discharging any accumuiated water caused by the melting of ice or the like within the refrigerated tank 11.

The capillary housing 17 has a portion which depends from the bottom of the cup-shaped portion 18 through a collar 41 interposed between the bottom of the refrigerated tank 11 and the bottom wall of the container 10. An O-ring 42 is seated in an outwardly opening groove formed in the capillary housing and abuts the inner periphery of the retainng collar 41 to seal the capillary housing thereto.

The inner periphery of the capillary housing is generally cylindrical in conguration and has an enlarged diameter upper portion 43a which opens to the interior of the cup-shaped portion 18 and an intermediate wall portion 43 of a slightly reduced diameter; The housing also has a reduced diameter. The housing also has a reduced diameter lower end portion 44 which has an inwardly opening groove 4 5 formed therein which, in turn, is fitted with a packing member such as an O-ring 46. The 0- ring 46 engages an enlarged diameter portion or land 47 formed onthe lower end of the capillary valve member 24?, and when in engagement with this land forms a valve to block the discharge of carbonated water from the end of the capillary housing. When the capillary valve member 20 is moved downwardly within the housing 17 to clear the land 47 from the O-ring 46, as shown in FIG- URE 3, carbonated water may freely pass by the O-ring 46 for mixture with the syrup at the discharge end of the capillary.

Since the o-ring 46 is mounted in the interier wall of the housing 16, the pressure of the carbonated water passmg thereby will act on the O-ring in a direction to force within the groove 45 when the valve is open, and thereby aford a free passage of carbonated Water therepast.

The capillary valve member 2% is tube-like in configuration and fits within the capillary housing 17. The valve member has an enlarged diameter upper end portion 48 which has an O-ring 49 seated therein which, in

turn, engages the radially enlarged inner Wall of the capillary housing 17 to provide a seal between the valve member and that wall to prevent the leakage of syrup thereby and to prevent the seepage of carbonated water into the syrup canister 12.

Just beneath the upper end portion 48 of the capillary valve member 20 is a reduced diameter portion 50 having an O-ring 51 mounted therein which, in turn, engages the reduced diameter wall portion 43 of the capillary housing 17 to provide a seal between the valve member and this wall. The lower margin of the upper end portion 48 of the capillary valve member 20 abuts an inverted trusto conical shoulder 52 formed in the capillary housing 17 to limit downward movement or" the capillary valve member 20. Immediately below the reduced diameter portion 50 of the capillary valve member 20 is a reduced diameter portion 53 which, with the inner wall 43 of the capillary housing 17 forms an annular chamber for the carbonated water.

Carbonated water under pressure in the annular chamber formed between the capillary valve member 20 and the inner wall of the housing 17 will exert pressure against the upper end of the land 47 and then against the lower end of the enlarged diameter portion 50 of the capillary valve member, and since the efiective area of the enlarged diameter portion of the capillary valve member is greater than the effective area of the shoulder portion of the land 47, the pressure difierential will hold the capillary valve member 20 in its uppermost position.

The lower end of the capillary valve member 20 just beneath the land 47 is threaded and has the transverse wall portion 57 of a nozzle 56 threaded thereon. The nozzle 56 extends upwardly and downwardly from the transverse wall 57 in the form of a cylinder. An annular baffie 58 of an inverted trusto conical form seats on the center transverse wall 57. The transverse wall 57 has a plurality of vertical passages 59, 59 extending therethrough. The bafle 58 serves to deflect the carbonated Water passing through the annular orifice at the end of the housing 17 outwardly toward the wall of the nozzle 56 to quiet the carbonated water so it will pass through the passageways 59, 59 for mixture with the syrup in a relatively quiescent state.

The upwardly extending portion of the cylindrical wall of the nozzle 56 slidably engages a scaling ring 6@ which is mounted in the capillary housing 17 adjacent the lower end thereof and which extends outwardly therefrom. The upper end portion of the wall of the nozzle 56 also forms a stop to limit upward movement of the capillary valve member 20. A nut 61 is threaded on the lower end of the capillary valve member 20 and abuts the under surface of the transverse wall 57, serving to lock the nozzle 56 to the capillary valve member.

The nut 61 has an inturned end fiange 61a which serves as a seat for a scaling ring 62. An orifice 63 is formed within an orifice Washer 63a which, in turn, is seated on the scaling ring 62. The knife edge orifice 63 provides an orifice for the flow of syrup from the bottom of the capillary valve member 17 which exerts a minimum trictional resistance to the flow of syrup.

An open bottom cup 65 is positioned within the cup portion 18 of the capillary housing 17 and is sealed thereto by means of an annular seal 66 mounted in a circumferential groove in the open bottom cup member 65. The cup member 65 has a plurality of ribs 67 formed integrally therewith and extending across the bottom thereof which meet centrally of the cup in an annular ring 68 as is shown in FIGURE 4. A valve seat member 69 has a headed shank 70 extending therefrom which is received within the central aperture in the ring 63 and has a curvilinear valve head 71 which is complementary to and engageable with a like curvilinear valve seat 72 formed in the uppermost end of the capillary valve member 20. The distance between the valve head 71 and the shani; head 7011 is such that when the capillary valve member 29 is in the position shown in FIGURE 3, the shank head 7051 will seat upon the annular ring 63 and suspend the valve head 71 out of engagement with the complementary valve seat 72 to permit syrup to flow therebetween. When the capillary valve member 20 is in the raised position shown in FIGURE 2, the valve head 71 will rest in engagement With the complementary valve seat 72 and the shank head 70a will be lifted oli the annular ring 68. The

ti valve member 69 is preferably formed of a relatively heavy material not subject to corrosion such as stainless steel. However, it will hereafter become apparent that the valve head will be maintained in the closed or seated position shown in FIGURE 2 by the weight of syrup directly thereabove.

An inverted cup member 73 is threaded onto the cup 65 and has an integral depending hollow boss 74 extending centrally therefrom which has a port 75 formed in the lowermost end thereof. The open bottom cup 65, inverted cup member 73, and cup-shaped portion 13 of the capillary housing 17 cooperate to define a metering chamber 76.

An open ended tube 77 is mounted within an upstanding boss 78 formed integrally with the cup-shaped member 73 and this tube extends up toward the lip of the syrup canister 12 to communicate the metering chamber 76 With the atmosphere.

A fioat 79 is formed in the shape of a cup with its open end at the bottom and is freely positioned within the metering chamber 76 so that it can rise up and down With the level of the syrup therein. A plurality of ribs extend across the interier of the fioat 79 to rigidify the same and terminate in a centrally disposed rounded valve head 81. The rounded valve head 81 is cooperable with a curvilinear seat 82 formed at the lower-most end of the depending hollow boss 74 adjacent the port 75.

The capillary valve member 20 may be moved vertically along the capillary valve housing 17 by means of an Operating lever pivoted at its inner end on a pivot pin 91, supported between ears 92 depending from the bottom of the container 10. The Operating lever 90 may be of a bifurcated form and may extend along opposite sides of the nozzle 56 and may be trunnioned thereto as by trunnion pins 93 pivotally engaging drilled recesses 94, 94 formed in opposite sides of the nozzle and eXtending within the transverse Wall 57 thereof. From this point the lever 96 extends outwardly and upwardly along the wall of the container 10 into a convenient location for operation by hand.

In the operation of the dispenser, when pressure is exerted on the upper end of the lever 90 to depress the lever, the nozzle 56 and the capillary valve member 28 will move downwardly along the interier of the capillary housing 17. Downward movement of the valve member 20 from the position shown in FIGURE 2 to the position shown in FIGURE 3 will move the valve seat 72 at the upper end of the valve member 20 away from the valve head 69 and syrup contained within the metering chamber 76 Will flow down through the interior of the capillary valve member. The land 47 will also move downwardly out of engagement with the O-ring 46, allowing carbonated water to flow through the annular passageway formed between the capillary valve member and its housing and onto the baflle 58. The bafle will deflect the carbonated water toward the wall of the nozzle 56 and the water will then pass from there downwardly through the passageways 59, 59 and through the bottom of the nozzle 56 in a relatively quiescent state for mxture with the syrup passing through the knife edge orifice 63.

It Will be observed that the orifice 63 defines a smaller flow passageway than the port 75 so that syrup can flow into the metering chamber 76 and the interior of the capillary valve member 20 faster than syrup can be discharged through the orifice 63. Accordingly, the syrup dispenser can accommodate continuous demand for syrup. Nonetheless, when the meterng chamber 76 is filled to a predetermined level the float 79 will rise With the syrup in the chamber 76 to the position shown in FIGURE 2 so that the valve head 81 seats on the seat 82, thereby blocking the passage of any more syrup into the chamber 76. The area of the valve head 81 exposed to the syrup within the canister 12 is of course considerably smaller than the area of the oat exposed to the syrup within the chamber '76. As a result, when the chamber 76 is filled to a predetermined level and the float is in the position shown in FIGURE 2 the pressure of syrup within the chamber 76 will be constant regardiess of the head of syrup within the canister 12.

The rate of flow of carbonated water is of course determined by the flow control member 36. On the other hand, the rate of flow of syrup from the orifice 63 is maintained constant because syrup can flow into the chamber 76 faster than it can flow out through the orifice 63 and because the syrup contained within chamber 75 is rendered insensitive to the pressure head of syrup within the canister 12.

This embodiment of the invention has been used for illustrative purposes only and various modifications may of course be made from my invention without departng from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof.

I claim as my invention: i

A dispensing device comprising a hollow body having an outlet, a hollow vertically extendng boss depending from the uppermost portion of said body into the hollow interior thereof and having an inlet formed at the lowermost end thereof, means communicating said inlet with a source of Iiquid, a meterng Cham-ber formed within said body and communicabie with said inlet and said outlet, a seat facing downwardly into said meterng chamber and defining said inlet, a float valve freely positioned within said meterng chamber and slidably guided for vertical movement along said depending boss, wherein said float valve is cooperable in one position with said seat to prevent liquid flow through said inlet, and wherein said fioat valve is arranged to rise and fall with the level of liquid within said meterng chamber, and independently operable valve means at said outlet controlling lquid flow therethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,667,990 Mojonnier Feb. 2, 1954 2,673,005 Brown Mar. 23, 1954 3,078,013 Forbes Feb. 19, 1963 

